Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku (series)

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku series
Cover art for the first Legacy of Goku game for the Game Boy Advance
Developer(s)	Webfoot Technologies
Publisher(s)	Infogrames Atari
Designer(s)	Webfoot Technologies
Series	Dragon Ball
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release date(s)	2002-2004
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 7+

The Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku series is a series of video games for the Game Boy Advance, based on the popular anime series Dragon Ball. All three games are action role-playing games. The first game, Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku was developed by Webfoot Technologies and released in 2002. The game was followed by two sequels: Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II released in 2003, and Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury released in 2004.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot from Buu's Fury. To the top left, a status bar containing the player's remaining health (red bar), remaining energy (green bar) experience points (blue bar), and transformation meter (yellow triangle) can be seen. The player's currently selected energy attack can also be seen at the far left of the status bar. To the lower left, a time limit can be seen that details how long a fusion has until it ends.

The games are action adventure RPG's. The player controls a Dragon Ball character and experiences various portions of the franchise. Combat is the main focus of the game. The player can hit the A button to use physical strikes, while the B button allows the player to unleash a variety of energy based attacks. Energy attacks drain an energy meter that recharges when it is not in use. Energy attacks can be cycled through with the L button, and more energy attacks are learned as the player progresses through the game. Later games in the series featured transformations that made the player character stronger temporarily. By defeating enemies, the player receives experience points, which allow the player character to level up and grow stronger. Later games in the series also feature consumable items that would restore the player character's health or energy, and equipment, which increased the stats of the player character. In Buu's Fury and Legacy of Goku II, the player could also use a device called a scouter to look up the stats of the various characters in the game, as well as basic information about them.

History

The Legacy of Goku

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku is the first title in the series, and was released in the United States on May 14, and in Europe on October 4, 2002. The game covers the story of Dragon Ball Z up until the destruction of Planet Namek. Goku is the only playable character. It is also one of the first GBA games to feature full motion video.

The Legacy of Goku II

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II was released on June 17, 2003. The plot of the game picks up where The Legacy of Goku left off, and continues until the end of the Cell Games Saga when Gohan defeats the evil android Cell. The game introduced several new concepts to the series. The first was transformations, which allowed characters to become temporarily stronger, at the cost of slowly draining their energy. It also introduced the scouter, which allowed players to look up the stats of other characters in the game, as well as basic information about them. The game also introduced charged melee attacks, which allowed characters to unleash a powerful physical strike after a short charging period. The game also allowed characters to further supplement their stats with capsules that were scattered around the game world.

Due to the game's success, a second version was released titled Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II International exclusive to Japan on July 23, 2004. In this version all characters were given new profile images and their names were reverted back to their original Japanese however Mister Satan still retains his English name "Hercule" on the front of his parade float.

Buu's Fury

Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury is the third and final game in the series. It was released on September 14, 2004 in North America. The game focuses on the final parts of the Dragon Ball Z series, namely the battles with Majin Buu. The game added several new additions to the series. First, the game added equipment, which could be equipped to characters to alter their stats and provide various other benefits. The game also allowed players to allocate their own stat points, of which three were given per level. Also added was the ability to block by holding the R button, and also to energy block by holding the B button while blocking. Using the energy block slowly drains the user's energy gauge. Both techniques greatly decrease the amount of damage that is received from attacks. The game also added various other features such as fusions and the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan 3. Although many features were added, the ability to use charge attacks by holding and releasing the A button was eliminated.

Characters

The Legacy of Goku games feature a variety of characters from the Dragon Ball universe for the player to play as. In the first Legacy of Goku, only Goku was playable, however in subsequent games in the series, multiple characters were playable including: Gohan, Goten, Trunks(kid and future), Piccolo, Vegeta, and Hercule. In Buu's Fury, a Fusion concept was implemented that allows certain characters to combine with each other, boosting their stats and changing their appearance. The three available fusion characters in the game are: Gotenks, Gogeta, and a one-time playable Vegito.

Reception

The Legacy of Goku received 51% positive reviews from the press,^[1][2] with the game selling over 1.22 million copies in the United States.^[3]

The Legacy of Goku II received mainly high reviews, with many considering it a huge step up from the first.

Buu's Fury received mostly positive reviews. It has a 69% average on Gamerankings.

References

1. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/519688.asp
2. ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/review/519688.html
3. ^ http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml